The mooring or docking of boats requires a high degree of proficiency, especially as the size of the boat increases and when it is desired to maneuver the boat into a slip which is only slightly wider and longer than the boat itself. Additionally, it is extremely critical to be able to maneuver a boat in a crowded marina or boat dock avoiding damage to the user's boat as well as to those in the same marina or area.
It is essentially for the above reasons that boat hooks were contrived. The boat hook generally includes, and has included without material change over years of use, an elongated pole having a handle end and a hooked distal end. The hooked end is utilized for a number of purposes including, but not limited to, the retrieval of dropped objects and as an aid in the securing of the boat to a dock. In the latter instance, the boat hook may be used to place the loop of a line over a mooring post, a dock cleat or another type of mooring means when docking, or to remove such a line when disembarking.
Needles to say, a critical part of docking is securing the looped end of a line to the mooring means. As a consequence, there have been a great number of inventions, patented and unpatented, aimed at the placement of the loop end over the mooring means. Almost all of these prior art devices include a rather complex attachment to the distal end of the standard boat hook. These complicated attachments handle or utilize the line in some fashion.
The present invention is of simplified construction and greatly facilitates the docking maneuver. A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improvement in the distal end of the boat hook which permits the user to maneuver the boat relative to the docking area by the applicaton of pushing or pulling forces. The present invention provides a greater degree of safety and convenience as compared to prior devices.